Terrence McNally, Vol. 1: 15 Short Plays - Softcover

McNally, Terrence

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1880399342 ISBN 13: 9781880399347

Publisher: Smith & Kraus Pub Inc, 1994

Synopsis

A collection of plays, including "Noon," "Bad habits," "Sweet Eros," "Andre's mother," and "Hidden agendas"

About this title

About the Author

Terrence McNally's plays have been produced on and off Broadway since 1965. Among his most widely recognized works are Kiss of the Spider Woman, for which he won the 1993 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, and Andre's Mother, for which he won the 1990 Emmy award for Best Writing in Mini series or Special. The screen adaptation of Frankie and Johnny stars Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. Mr. McNally lives in Bridgehampton, New York.

Reviews

As anyone who follows theater knows, McNally, for the last decade or so, has been on a roll, turning out one witty, well-crafted off-Broadway comedy after another--Lisbon Traviata; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; and Frankie and Johnnie in the Clair de Lune, not to mention the Tony-winning book to the Broadway musical Kiss of the Spiderwoman. Less well known is the fact that McNally is a writer of remarkable breadth and depth, equally adept at one-act and full-evening plays, and equally at home writing satire, farce, or tragicomedy. This collection of his shorter works provides a fascinating overview of a master whose career began in the New York off-off-Broadway boom of the late 1960s. Some of the plays haven't aged well--the 1968 antiwar satire, Next, seems particularly irrelevant now--but a lot are still quite funny, even biting, after all these years. Notably included are two of McNally's most popular 1970s plays, Whiskey and his farce set in New York's disco-era gay bathhouse scene, The Ritz. Jack Helbig

McNally has proven to be a remarkable playwright with truly enjoyable works that warm the heart, make one chuckle, and even touch one's soul. His book for the musical Kiss of the Spider Woman has become a cult work, and the film version of Frankie and Johnny at the Clair de Lune starred Al Pacino. The 15 short plays here act as snapshots of this remarkable man's long career and deserve a place in the archives of his achievements. They include Bringing It All Back Home; The Ritz (which was filmed in the 1970s); Prelude and Liebestod; Andres's Mother (which was made into a TV movie); and Hidden Agendas. Though one wishes to see the actual productions, these plays are a delight to read. Indeed, they deserve to be read and re-read; their eloquence clears the mind of day-to-day clutter. Highly recommended for all libraries.
H. Robert Malinowsky, Univ of Illinois at Chicago. Lib.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Smith & Kraus Pub Inc
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1880399342
• ISBN 13: 9781880399347
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 348